Is your garden booming with zucchini? These baked Parmesan Zucchini Bites are a go-to appetizer or side dish for any occasion! All ingredients are combined at once, making it super easy and quick to prepare. One bowl, one spatula, one baking dish. Done!
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This has been a family favorite recipe for decades. It's perfect for any time of day and any day of the week! The zucchini is combined with red bell pepper, onion, fresh herbs, and spices. Bisquick and eggs keep the mixture together for a nice and airy, light texture!
In addition to this zucchini recipe, check out our Paella Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Shrimp, Grilled Halibut Packets and Shakshuka.
Why You’ll Love this Easy Recipe
- Delicious year-round appetizer or side dish
- Only 15 minutes of prep
- Customize with other veggies
- Simple Ingredients
- Great for meal prep and can be frozen!
Ingredients
- Fresh Zucchini
- Onion
- Bell Pepper
- Fresh Parmesan Cheese
- Bisquick
- Vegetable Oil or olive oil
- Eggs
- Seasoning – smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper
- Fresh Parsley and Oregano
What if I don't have Bisquick?
You can totally make your own biscuit mix for this recipe! Simply combine 1 cup flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening in a food processor until well blended. Check out this biscuit mix recipe if you’d like to make a big batch.
Cooking Steps
Slice Zucchini - Use a sharp knife or a simple kitchen handheld mandoline to ensure uniform thickness. Then cut the zucchini rounds in half.
Mix the sliced zucchini with all the remaining ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
Spread the zucchini parmesan mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish in an even layer.
Bake for about 30 minutes in preheated oven at 350 degrees F until golden brown around the edges and set in the center.
How to serve zucchini bites?
When cool enough to handle, we like to cut them into smaller pieces for appetizers or carve out larger portions for a tasty side dish. They're perfect for brunch, holiday buffets throughout the year, and great to have on hand for unplanned get-togethers and breakfast on the go. Hope you enjoy!
Expert Tips
Here are a few things to keep in mind when putting parmesan zucchini bites together.
- Try to have your eggs at room temperature for more even baking.
- Medium zucchinis work best. Avoid large zucchini; they get spongy.
- Cut the zucchini into ¼-inch thick slices. A mandoline helps with uniformity for even cooking.
- You can do the chopping and measuring ahead of mixing everything together. But do not assemble the casserole ahead of baking. The eggs can deflate and the mixture risks getting gummy.
- Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of the baked casserole for the kiddos!
Variations
- Vegetables – Adding mushrooms, eggplant or seeded tomatoes are a great idea. Plus, you can substitute yellow squash for the green.
- Cheese – Turn these into really cheesy zucchini bites by adding shredded cheddar cheese, fontina, mozzarella or creamy jack cheese.
- Herbs & Spices – Fresh rosemary, basil, tarragon and chives would be great choices as well. For a little kick, you could add a pinch of cayenne or Hungarian hot paprika.
- Meat – If you’re not concerned about keeping the recipe vegetarian, add crumbled sausage, bacon or diced ham.
Parmesan Zucchini Bites FAQs
Even though zucchini is available throughout the year, it's at peak abundance in the summer as gardens overflow with this versatile veg. Zucchini have a mild, sweet flavor and becomes more concentrated when cooked. It’s perfect to go with other vegetables, herbs and spices, meat, fish and seafood, cheese and other dairy.
No need! The skin is thin, unassuming and palatable. Plus, the dark color indicates it's nutrient rich so you want to keep it intact. For this recipe, all you need to do is give them a good rinse, trim the ends, and slice with a mandoline or sharp knife.
I think fresh is best here but frozen zucchini will work. Zucchini has a lot of water so be sure to let it thaw completely and wring out as much moisture as possible with a dish towel or paper towels. You don’t want the mixture to be watery. Add more Bisquick or some panko crumbs if needed.
They sure can. You can substitute a gluten-free flour for the Bisquick, but you'll need to add the baking powder, salt and vegetable shortening as indicated above. You can also try a blend of gluten-free flour and breadcrumbs.
How to Store, Freeze & Reheat
This super easy parmesan zucchini bites recipe is perfect for meal prepping. They hold up well in the fridge, in the freezer and you can literally enjoy them any time of day.
Storing
If there happens to be leftovers you don't plan to freeze, store in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days. See Reheating instruction below.
Freezing
Once the baking dish cools completely, cut the baked zucchini into your desired shapes and sizes. Set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze. When frozen, seal in a freezer-safe bag and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating
Bake frozen at 375°F for 12-15 minutes and around 8 minutes if thawed. You can always microwave them, but the oven will yield a crispy outside, tender inside result.
More Vegetarian Appetizers to Try!
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📋 Recipe
Parmesan Zucchini Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups zucchini, ¼-inch half-moon slices
- 1 cup Bisquick mix
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup onion, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients with a spatula until well combined.
- Spread mixture into prepared dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and set in the center.
- Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into triangles, squares or desired shape. Serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Ramya Shetty says
Any substitute for bisquick please?
Kim Peterson says
See the "What if I don't have Bisquick" section in the post. There you'll find how to make your own with just a few ingredients.
Chef Mimi says
This is great! Printing this to make this summer when (hopefully) I have a glut of zucchini, and a special 7 year old to help me cook!
Kim Peterson says
Sounds like a great plan! Hope they're a hit!
Terry B. says
I’ve made this recipe about five times now and it’s always a big hit. I didn’t adjust the recipe at all. It’s delicious and disappears quickly.
Kim Peterson says
Awesome! Thrilled it's enjoyed! Happy Holidays!!
KG says
Going to try this for my daughter's upcoming birthday party. Do you have a dipping recommendation to serve it with?
Kim Peterson says
Awesome! I think this versatile Creamy Green Herb Sauce would be great along with store-bought or homemade pesto. Let me know how it goes!
Beth Neels says
I saw this on IG Kim. I have so many zucchini right now, I need all the help I can get! Gonna try this this week. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kim Peterson says
Awesome! They're great to freeze too. Hope you like them Beth!
M york says
Can't wait to make this when we get fresh Jersey zucchini!